343 Industries approached BLITZ Agency to help develop the next generation of in-game companion application for Halo game franchise. The application needs to - engage gamers, deliver the experience users have come to expect from Halo's award winning franchise, improve in-game stats, communicate with other gamers, and it all needed to be a platform independent experience.

Process

BLITZ Agency kicked off the project with a series of stories or narratives users will encounter. This defined the experiences we wanted our users to experience when using this application. We referenced the narrative every time we came up with a feature, interaction, or function. We asked ourselves, "does this fulfill the experience we set out to accomplish?" The narrative (later became a story board) also provided the team the optimal scenario and interactions users will encounter when accomplishing tasks across multiple platforms. This clarified the features and functionalities as we moved into story diagram phase.

Story Diagrams was the bridge between story boards and wireframes. It interweaved screen flows, interaction logics, and device interaction with the story board. We used it to unify a vision between user's end goal with Software Engineers, Content Strategist, Project Managers, and Product Managers.

The Story Diagrams provided the overall screen flows and the wireframes gave form to the screens. Wireframe concept phase was an iterative process. The process involved - sketching, creation, critiques, destruction, and repeat!

Then 343 Industries and BLITZ Agency conducted three days of usability/focus group testing with the wireframes. The results help refocus our designs and provided BLITZ with the clarity to our solutions. We modified the designs based on user feedback.

Finally, the User Experience team worked closely with Visual Designers to make sure the interaction solutions is carried across the visual language.

Tasks

• Developed user experience strategy

• Interaction ideation

• Provide process and Project Development roadmap

• Help manage client expectations and creative output

• Integrated interaction flow into existing product

• Platform independent flexible interaction

• Incorporate gamification principles to encourage interaction

• Extended in-game play into other platforms

• Gamer performance is visualized into digestible and useful information to help improve and compete

Solution

Halo Atlas became the cornerstone of Halo Waypoint relaunch. BLITZ delivered a cohesive strategy/experience throughout each platform. Users could access functionalities on different platforms while maintaining a consistent and usable experience to learn and improve their gaming skills. Halo Atlas provide users with the tools gamers would expect in a companion strategy guide such as: receive a more complete storyline around Halo franchise, track, improve user's personal stats, and increase repeat plays so users have a richer experience out of the game. In campaign mode, users are able to - receive in-game real-time companion information, learn about their progress, get tactical information (such as: weapons, maps, vehicles, characters, etc) , and receive a more complete storyline around Halo franchise. In multi-player mode, users can - receive in-game real-time information, learn about individual/team stats, weapons drop, customize load-outs, and receive teammate location and enemy position. This translate to more value out of each game and players can spend more time exploring the subtle nuances of the storyline.